Hard To Tell: "We put our soul into every sound"

Redaction
Jul 25
2 min read

Hard To Tell is an electronic duo known for blending techno, house, new wave, and breakbeat into magnetic sets and emotionally charged productions. Since launching the HTT project in 2018, they've carved out a distinct identity—refined yet hard-hitting, oscillating between dreamlike depth and dancefloor energy. With strong support from legends like Laurent Garnier, Dixon, and Âme, and releases on respected labels such as COD3 QR, Innervisions, Sum Over Histories, Siamese, and Tau, their sound resonates across global club and festival stages. Renowned for marathon DJ sets often lasting over 5 hours, HTT brings a wide-angle musical vision where every transition tells a story, leaving a lasting impression.

"Hidden Traffic" is your debut album after years of singles and EPs. When did you realize the time was right to take on such an ambitious project?

Hey guys, happy to be here with you and really excited for our debut album release on Friday. Actually we always wanted to make an album to show to the world that we have many different colors and genres that we love to produce. and two years ago after a few big releases that we did on nice labels we said okay now when we have more people to listen so is the right time to make it.

The album moves across diverse territories—from breakbeat and ambient to techno and Detroit-inspired house. How did you craft a cohesive narrative that ties all these influences together?

All of these genres are our favorite ones! We tried to keep our sound signature in every one of them so you can hear something similar between all the tracks.

Your sound is often described as hypnotic and cinematic, yet still powerful on the dancefloor. How do you strike a balance between experimentation and club functionality when producing?

To be honest when we are producing we are not thinking about the balance, we just focus on making the best & unique sound and track that we can. Later we are trying on the dance floors and see what works more and what works less.

Tracks like "Will Stay" and "Tension" stand out for their raw energy and rhythmic intensity. How much room do you leave for improvisation or creative risk during the production process?

Oh these two tracks may be our favorite ones from the album. We are always taking risks and trying new things and new sounds when we are producing - we love it a lot to make something fresh that we didn't make before! Especially in this album we left a big room for improvisation and we hope you can hear and feel it :)

You've earned support from legends like Laurent Garnier, Dixon, and Âme. How important has that recognition been for you, and has it influenced your evolution as "Hard To Tell"?

Yes all of these artists are a huge inspiration for us and our idols, the support from them helped us a lot to build who we are now. We really appreciate them.